1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a recording medium supply device, and an image forming system, each including a first light-emitting member that emits light while recording media are being conveyed from a recording medium setting unit and including a second light-emitting member that indicates an operating member to be operated to remove a recording medium from a main body of the apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, for example, image formation is performed such that a conveying device conveys recording media, such as sheets of paper, from a recording medium setting unit, such as a recording medium tray, storing the recording media, and toner images are transferred by an image forming unit and fixed to the recording media by a fixing device. Furthermore, the recording media on which images are formed may be subjected to post-processing, such as binding or folding. A post-processing device is installed as an optional device separated from the main body of the image forming apparatus. Moreover, in addition to the recording medium tray installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus, a recording medium supply device (large-capacity recording medium supply device or large capacity tray (LCT)) for storing a large number of recording media may be connected, as a separated optional device, to the main body of the image forming apparatus. By arranging the recording medium supply device or the post-processing device for the image forming apparatus as described above, an image forming system is formed.
In some image forming apparatuses as described above, multiple recording medium trays may be arranged according to sizes of recording media such that recording media can be supplied from a feed tray still containing recording media to thereby continue printing without interruption. Such image forming apparatuses are used to continuously perform a large number of printing operations. Furthermore, in such image forming apparatuses, light-emitting members indicate, by luminescent display, that the recording media are being conveyed, that is, the recording medium trays are prohibited from being opened, on outer sides of opening/closing portions of the recording medium trays. With the luminescent display, it becomes possible to prevent the recording medium trays conveying the recording media from being drawn by mistake.
Incidentally, in the image forming apparatus, a recording medium jam may occur due to conveyance failures in various portions of a conveying device inside the main body of the image forming apparatus. The recording medium jam is likely to occur especially in the fixing device. If the recording medium jam occurs, it is necessary to remove the recording medium to the outside of the image forming apparatus. Conventionally, there is a known technology for displaying, on a display unit of an operation panel of the image forming apparatus, a portion where a recording medium is jammed so that the portion where the recording medium is jammed can be recognized from outside.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-122361 discloses an image forming apparatus that, when a sheet of paper has not reached a registration sensor, that is, when the sheet of paper is jammed, determines and displays a door corresponding to a sheet remaining position based on information stored in a storage unit that stores therein the number of sheets remaining in the apparatus at the time of occurrence of a jam, and further determines and displays whether there is a remaining sheet after a process of dealing with the jam is completed based on the presence or absence of sheet positional information on a sheet of paper that has not normally been discharged from the apparatus.
However, in the image forming apparatus configured to turn on a light on the outer side of the opening/closing portion of a feed tray being used to supply sheets of paper as described above, if a sheet jammed portion is to be displayed by light on the outer side of the opening/closing portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus, it becomes difficult to distinguish between a portion where a sheet of paper is being supplied, that is, “a portion prohibited from being opened”, and a portion where a sheet of paper is jammed, that is, “a portion that needs to be opened”.
Therefore, there is a need for an image forming apparatus capable of easily distinguishing between two types of light-emitting members to easily determine whether a light emission signal from each of the light-emitting members indicates recording medium supply operation or a portion where a recording medium is jammed.